Snips
by SlothyAstronaut
Summary: Aradia goes to Nepeta's for a haircut.


Snips & Snails

By Slothy Astronaut

On any given day, there was a very good chance that Nepeta was sitting at her wall, painting something new. On this day, that was exactly what she was doing, using an array of vibrant dyes to paint in a small square. A dab of green here, a dab of blue there, and a big splash of red right in the middle. She leaned back, sitting on the cool stone floor. She picked up a towel, wiping off her fingers. There she was, or, at least, a tiny representation, standing next to a much taller figure. She smiled. Her relationship with Equius has blossomed into… something more than pale. It was so wonderful, as he cared for her more than anyone else ever could. And… he had understood and readily agreed when she asked him to be her matesprit.

She sighed, resting on the floor with her thoughts and memories. Her rest, however, was interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Who could that be?" she said aloud, looking over to the door. Standing up, she brushed a little dust off her hands onto her pants before stepping over to the door.

"Who is it?" she asked, preparing herself to pounce. Please, she thought, be Equius…

"It's me, Aradia. Are you busy?" came the reply. Nepeta relaxed, returning to a more upright stance.

She opened the door, seeing the slightly taller troll standing on her front step, lightly dusted with snow.

"No, come on in!" Nepeta said cheerfully, standing back to allow Aradia entrance. She walked in, kicking off her snow-covered boots.

"Gee, it's pretty cold out there from the looks of you."

Aradia nodded, brushing the snow out of her hair with a gloved hand.

"Yeah, it is. It started snowing on my way over." She removed her gloves, stuffing them into her coat pocket before taking it off and hanging it up by the door.

Nepeta stepped into the kitchen. She called out to Aradia after a few moments.

"Want some tea? I have a kettle on."

"Sure, thanks!" she called back, sitting down on a small stool.

After a few minutes, Nepeta emerged from the kitchen with two steaming mugs. She handed one to Aradia carefully.

"I just put in a little sugar, hope that's okay."

Aradia nodded, smiling as she felt the warmth flowing into her hands.

"Thanks."

Nepeta smiled in reply. "You're welcome! Now, did you need me for something, or did you just come to say hi?"

Aradia took a sip of the hot tea before speaking.

"Well, I didn't really know who else to go to about this…"

Nepeta frowned slightly.

"Is everything okay? Is something wrong?"

Aradia shook her head, laughing quietly.

"No, nothing's wrong, it's just that I don't know who could help me."

She leaned a little closer to Nepeta, whispering as if there were a secret third person in the room.

"Can you give me a haircut?" she asked quietly.

Nepeta looked at her with a puzzled expression for only a moment, and then smiled.

"Well, I can certainly try. I've never given someone a haircut before."

"Really? Don't you cut your own?"

"Yes, but I'm not someone else, silly!" Nepeta laughed, "But I'll give it a shot. Uh, let me grab a towel or something so it doesn't get all over your clothes."

She ran out of the room, coming back a minute later with a large towel, a pair of scissors and a mirror. Aradia set down the mug as she made herself comfortable on the stool. Nepeta draped the towel around Aradia, pinning it in the back with a small binder clip.

"How short do you want it?" she asked, standing behind Aradia and beginning to snip away.

"Uh, short. Like, between yours and Tav's, no 'hawk. Does that make sense?"

"Uh-huh. Short, not too short. I gotta ask, Aradia, why do you want a haircut anyway?"

Snip. Snip.

"I just wanted to try something new, I guess. It's been long my whole life, you know?" she said, careful not to move too much.

Snip. Snip.

"Mhm! I can understand that. I cut mine so it isn't in my eyes all the time." Nepeta replied, moving to one side to gently cut Aradia's long, curly hair.

Snip, snip, snip.

Long curls of dark hair fell to the stone floor. Moving to Aradia's other side, she noticed that she had closed her eyes.

"Aradia? You okay?" she asked, starting to cut the other side down.

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just weird, watching it all fall off." Aradia responded quietly, smiling. "So, uh, how are things with Equius?"

Nepeta paused for a moment before continuing. "It's… it's perfect." She smiled, laughing as she went back to cutting. "He such a gentleman."

"Well, good! Glad everything worked out alright."

Nepeta carefully cut around her horns, trimming here, snipping there, occasionally taking a comb to it to make sure it all looked good. Lastly, she stood directly in front of Aradia, and gently cut her bangs. Nearly forty-five minutes had passed when Nepeta took a step back, slowly walking around Aradia to check everything. Satisfied with her work, she set down the scissors and picked up the mirror. She held it up in front of Aradia.

"Alright, I'm done. Let's take a look!" she said, smiling.

Aradia opened her eyes and gasped quietly, shocked at the absence of her long locks of hair. The curls were still there, but they were much shorter, no longer covering her face as much. Her horns were also more visible, their tight curls seeming to match her newly-cut hair. She moved the mirror around, staring at the strange shortness. It was cute, she thought. It'd take some getting used to though, that was for sure.

"Do you like it?" Nepeta asked nervously.

"I love it. It's perfect!" Aradia replied, standing up and hugging Nepeta tightly.

"Thanks, Nepeta." She said quietly.

Nepeta returned the hug for a moment. "No problem, Aradia. I'm glad you like it!"

Aradia let go after a few seconds, turning around to let Nepeta remove the towel. She ruffled her hair with her hand, noting how it didn't look any different when ruffled. She spun around slowly, no longer feeling her hair brush against her shoulders.

"It feels so… so liberating." Aradia whispered.

Nepeta opened a closet, pulling out a broom and dustpan. She swept up the clippings, depositing them into a trashcan in the kitchen. She stepped back into the main room to see Aradia putting on her coat and boots.

"Leaving so soon?" Nepeta asked.

Aradia nodded, zipping up her coat.

"Yeah, I feel like I have to go out there and do something, y'know?" she said as she slipped on her thick gloves.

"Mhm! I get it. New you, new world." Nepeta replied, smiling. "do you want a scarf? It'll be cold."

Aradia paused for a moment before answering.

"Sure, that'd be great."

Nepeta pulled a scarf down from the coat hanger, made of olive-green wool. She carefully wrapped it around Aradia's neck.

"Thanks, Nepeta. I'll, uh, talk to you later?"

Nepeta nodded.

"Sure thing! Go on then, scram!" she said, giggling.

Aradia turned to leave, opening the door. It was snowing lightly, and Aradia tightened the scarf a little before stepping out and pulling the door shut behind her. Once out on the step, she ran her gloved hands through her hair. She walked off slowly, her boots crunching in the snow. She laughed, feeling a great weight lifted from her shoulders, in more ways than one.

The End.


End file.
